Salutary effects of anisodamine in murine traumatic shock

Anisodamine, an alkaloid originally extracted from the Chinese herb Anisodus tanguticus, has been reported to possess beneficial actions in septic, superior mesenteric artery oclusion, and hemorrhagic shock. We have investigated its actions in traumatic shock in rats. Anisodamine (2.5 mg/kg) increased survival time from 1.4 ± 0.2 h to 3.1 ± 0.3 h (P < 0.001) in traumatized rats with 50% of the drug-treated animals surviving at least 3.5 h. Drug treatment had no significant effect on plasma cathepsin D activity (12.0 ± 2.3 vs 10.4 ± 1.7; vehicle- vs drug-treated, respectively). However, plasma myocardial depressant factor accumulation was significantly blunted by anisodamine, 62 ± 5 vs 41 ± 5 U/ml (P < 0.02), indicating that prevention of MDF formation may be one protective mechanism of this substance.